Terms and Conditions

Budski is a B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) loyalty infrastructure platform. We provide tools that enable small and medium-sized businesses (“Retail Partners” or “RPs”) to run digital loyalty programmes for their customers (“Adventurers”).

Budski charges Retail Partners a monthly or annual subscription fee for access to the platform. Budski does not process payments between Retail Partners and their end customers. All payments collected via PayFast are subscription fees paid by Retail Partners to Budski for access to Budski's software platform and services.

You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a binding agreement to use the Service as a Retail Partner. By registering, you confirm that you meet these requirements and that the information you provide is accurate and complete.

Budski offers the following subscription plans for Retail Partners:

Prices are quoted in South African Rand (ZAR) and exclude VAT. Budski is not currently registered as a VAT vendor. Budski reserves the right to change pricing with 30 days' written notice to existing subscribers.

4.1 What's Included

Essentials includes: digital stamp card, deal creation, customer count, and basic analytics.

Growth includes all Essentials features, plus: push notifications, birthday deals, flash deals, audience segments, advanced analytics, and Legislative Compliance tools (member register and age-verified audit trail).

4.2 Annual Plans

Annual subscriptions are billed upfront for a full 12-month period. Annual subscribers save 16.67% compared to monthly billing (equivalent to paying for 10 months and receiving 12).

New Retail Partners receive a 30-day free trial on the Growth plan, with access to all features. No payment information is required to start a trial. At the end of the trial period, the Service will be restricted until a subscription is activated.

6.1 Payment Processing

Payments are processed via PayFast, a payment service provider regulated in South Africa. By subscribing, you authorise Budski to charge the selected subscription fee to your chosen payment method on a recurring basis (monthly or annually, as selected).

All payments made through PayFast on the Budski platform are for Budski's own software subscription and loyalty platform services only. Budski does not collect payments on behalf of third-party merchants or customers.

6.2 Recurring Billing

Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing cycle (monthly or annually) unless cancelled before the renewal date. You authorise Budski to charge the applicable renewal fee to your payment method on file.

6.3 Failed Payments

If a payment fails, Budski will attempt to notify you and may suspend access to the Service. A grace period of up to 7 days may be granted at Budski's discretion before access is fully restricted.

6.4 Taxes

You are responsible for any applicable taxes, duties, or levies imposed by your jurisdiction beyond the stated subscription price.

Budski provides a digital software service. Upon successful payment:

• Access to the subscribed plan is granted immediately and electronically via your Budski dashboard.
• No physical goods are delivered. There is no shipping, courier, or physical delivery associated with the Service.
• Access credentials are delivered to the email address provided during registration.

“Delivery” is deemed complete at the moment digital access is granted to your account following successful payment confirmation from PayFast.

8.1 How to Cancel

You may cancel your subscription at any time from your Budski dashboard (Settings → Billing → Cancel Subscription) or by contacting us at help@budski.co.za.

8.2 Effect of Cancellation

• Monthly subscriptions: Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing month. You retain full access until that date.
• Annual subscriptions: Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current annual billing period. You retain full access until that date.

Budski does not suspend access immediately upon cancellation — you will always receive the full period you have paid for.

8.3 Downgrading

You may downgrade from Growth to Essentials at any time. The change takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle.

9.1 Monthly Subscriptions

Monthly subscription fees are non-refundable once the billing period has commenced. If you cancel mid-month, you retain access until the end of that month but will not receive a partial refund.

9.2 Annual Subscriptions

Annual subscription fees are non-refundable after 14 days from the initial payment date. Within the first 14 days of your first annual payment, you may request a full refund by contacting billing@budski.co.za. No refunds are available for annual subscription renewals.

9.3 Trial Period

The 30-day trial is free of charge. No payment is taken during the trial period; therefore, no refund is applicable.

9.4 Exceptional Circumstances

Budski may, at its sole discretion, issue partial or full refunds in exceptional circumstances (such as extended service outages caused by Budski). Requests must be submitted in writing to billing@budski.co.za within 30 days of the event.

9.5 How Refunds Are Processed

Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method via PayFast within 5–10 business days.

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable South African law or regulation
• Infringe the intellectual property rights of Budski or any third party
• Transmit spam, malware, or harmful content
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to Budski's systems
• Use the platform to facilitate illegal activities, including but not limited to the unlicensed sale of age-restricted goods (cannabis, liquor, tobacco) — Retail Partners in regulated industries remain solely responsible for their own regulatory compliance
• Resell or sublicence access to the Service without written permission from Budski

All content, software, trademarks, and materials forming part of the Service are the intellectual property of BUDSKI (PTY) LTD. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Service for your business purposes during your subscription period. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer any part of the Service.

Your business data (customer lists, stamp records, deal configurations) remains your property. You grant Budski a limited licence to process and store this data solely for the purpose of delivering the Service.

Budski processes personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Our full Privacy Policy, available at budski.co.za/privacy, forms part of these Terms and is incorporated by reference.

By using the Service, you consent to the collection and processing of personal information as described in the Privacy Policy.

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law:

• Budski's total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms or your use of the Service shall not exceed the total subscription fees paid by you in the 3 months preceding the claim.
• Budski shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, loss of revenue, or loss of business opportunity.
• Budski does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access to the Service, but will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability.

Budski reserves the right to:

• Modify, suspend, or discontinue features of the Service with reasonable notice
• Terminate a subscription without refund if a Retail Partner materially breaches these Terms

In the event Budski discontinues the Service entirely, affected subscribers will receive at least 30 days' notice and a pro-rata refund for any unused prepaid period.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising from these Terms shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If unresolved, disputes shall be submitted to the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa.

Budski may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify Retail Partners of material changes by email and/or by displaying a notice in the dashboard. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of updated Terms constitutes acceptance.

For questions about these Terms, refunds, cancellations, or your subscription:

• General enquiries: help@budski.co.za
• Billing & refunds: billing@budski.co.za
• Legal & Privacy (POPIA): privacy@budski.co.za
• Company: BUDSKI (PTY) LTD, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
• CIPC Reg: 2026/512018/07